AT&T To Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

Interesting news for a Sunday afternoon. AT&T is announcing that they will purchase T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stock. The deal is expected to take 12 months to complete. Given that this would make AT&T the largest US carrier by far, most expect the Feds to sniff around this deal before it goes through as well.

Rumors were floating around that Sprint was thinking of purchasing T-Mobile USA, but it looks like T-Mobile was the one looking to sell. Regardless of how this turns out (or if) it is safe to say that things in the already tumultuous US wireless market are about to change.

For what it is worth (and that may not be much given how early this announcement this is) this is probably going to turn into a raw deal for consumers as it will reduce choice in some areas of the US. T-Mobile never had the US coverage the other carriers did. And to add speculation to speculation, I wouldn’t be surprised if the folks at T-Mobile (headquartered in Bonn, Germany) just said you know what that crazy US market just isn’t worth the hassle.

I had Cingular when AT&T got a hold of it. Went downhill fast after that. I was thinking of trying T-Mobil actually when my current contract expired, but I would probably stick with Verizon if this goes through.

from engadget
In the event of the deal failing to receive regulatory approval, AT&T will be on the hook for $3 billion to T-Mobile — a breakup fee, they call it — along with transferring over some AWS spectrum it doesn’t need for its LTE rollout, and granting T-Mo a roaming agreement at a value agreeable to both parties.

let’s hope .gov does it’s job and sticks it to ATT as they’ve done to their customers so T-mo will have some extra cash to keep expanding their network.

Surprising deal, not surprising timing. With int’l deals it is basically impossible to keep the lid on across the atlantic or the pacific. They needed to get the story out there prior to market open C.E.T., it will play up on the Deutsche Telekom side well. MERGER MONDAY baby!

Well, maybe one good thing is that Sprint and Vzn may see some new customers, who are smart enough not to go over to AT&T. I hate AT&T, mostly for the restrictions they put on their customers, when it comes to sideloading apps, and their high priced data plans that have such a low cap on them. I am a very happy and satisfied Sprint customer. I always have great coverage in my area, We were the first to get 4G speeds, and they have the Evo and the Epic, which are two amazing handsets. The Epic is the finest of the four Galaxy S devices made. If I wasn’t on Sprint, I’d go over to Verizon, if they weren’t so damn expensive.